YML equips leaders, teenagers to make lifetime disciples of Jesus Christ

For more than 50 years, Youth Ministry Lab (YML) has provided student ministry leaders and students with tools to be and to make lifetime disciples of Christ. This year’s conference at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, March 29-30, continued that tradition, offering conference attendees—both adults and student leaders—multiple breakout sessions designed to engage them in relevant topics.

Master of Divinity student and YML leader Ryan Casey says YML uniquely functions to serve teenagers and youth leaders who desire to be better equipped for their respective ministries. “YML seeks to consistently remind student pastors and youth leaders that it is ultimately God’s Word used by God’s Spirit that transforms the lives of their teenagers,” Casey says.

This commitment to biblical truth was emphasized during YML’s first main worship session Friday evening with conference speaker Tony Merida, lead pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., who delivered the first of three messages on elements of discipleship: a commitment to the Word of God. (Sermons on prayer and evangelism followed the next day.)

Teaching from James 1, Merida first noted that many Christians have a tendency to proclaim their belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, yet they do not treat it as such. “We show what we believe about the Bible not merely by what we say about the Bible, but what we do with the Bible,” he said.

If Christians really believe the Bible is God’s Word, Merida continued, “wouldn’t you want to understand it and wouldn’t you want to build your life on it?”

Commitment to the Word begins with a devotion to study but must continue in growth and obedience, Merida said. True devotion to the Word, he continued, means Christians are not simply gatherers of knowledge, but doers of the Word.

“In our world, we have no shortage of information,” Merida said. “What we have a shortage of is application. What we have is a shortage of people saying, ‘This is what God said, I’m a new creation, I’m empowered now, and I’m going to do it.’”

Merida concluded that as YML attendees continue in their ministries and in their Christian lives, they must be humble students of the Word who are changed and spurred to action as they lead, serve others, and extend compassion to the afflicted.

“The Bible tells you where you came from, what went wrong, how Jesus fixed it, and what He’s going to do to make it all new,” Merida said. “You see, the Bible is giving us our real identity.”

In addition to main worship sessions, both adult and teenage attendees had access to multiple breakout sessions led by nearly 20 speakers on ministry and cultural topics.

Master of Divinity student and YML leader Jenny Kim has served with YML in various roles since 2015. In that time, she has had the opportunity to attend many sessions, all of which she says have given her valuable insight into how to approach ministry and difficult cultural topics through a biblical lens.

“My experience has been that YML does not shy away from addressing difficult and challenging issues of the culture,” Kim says. “The breakout sessions challenge me to think through the current trends and issues surrounding the student ministry.”

YML is a valuable conference for youth leaders and students, but also for anyone who desires to see a commitment to the Word of God in current and future generations, Kim says. She recommends the conference to not only student ministers and volunteers, but also to senior pastors and parents.

“The importance of passing on God’s truth from one generation to another is so clear from the Scripture,” Kim says. “Youth Ministry Lab is a conference that is most concerned with glorifying the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and equipping the saints for the work of the church, specifically to teach and train the next generation.”